1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a cutting board for safely supporting or cutting foodstuffs, household items and other materials. Safety results by employment of separated downwardly directed projections which form the traction surface which sufficiently raise the cutting board off the countertop, table top, or planar surface and provide a large cumulative gripping, non-slip traction area that is useful during the cutting or support process, allowing juice and other fluids to flow under the board and avoiding pooling under and around or planing of the board thereby minimizing the growth of microbes and diminishing the likelihood of a slippery and dangerous condition. The invention includes a method of forming a cutting board of reduced manufacturing costs.
2. Description of Related Art
Cutting boards are well known in the art and are primarily designed to provide a surface on which to cut food and other materials while protecting the countertop, but most fail to provide a reliably safer device. Cutting food stuffs and other materials is a potentially dangerous task, i.e. using a sharp knife or cleaver under pressure against often times frozen, hard, or cumbersome items, often in a wet environment created from fluids seeping from items during the cutting process and invariably without use of any safety or protective equipment or gear. Foods oozing fluids when cut are frequently encountered on cutting boards. The household kitchen counter is the most frequent surface on which such cutting occurs and family members during regular day to day meal preparation are the most frequent users. This environment and type of unprotected untrained user presents a situation which demands extra safety precautions.
The structure of cutting boards known in the art either fails to address this safety hazard or incompletely or inadequately solves the problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,294 issued to Bodomolny discloses a cutting board with a replaceable cutting surface and traction elements in the form of rubber feet individually attached, spaced rubber treads or rubber grip fastened by adhesives or stainless steel screws on the bottom surface. Bodomolny does not teach or suggest the use of unitarily molded traction elements, parameters related to height, quantity, spacing, shape, surface area, and the overall bottom surface configuration set forth in the present invention. Planing and reduced traction resulting from fluid dynamics as related to the available space under the cutting board and traction resulting therefrom are never addressed in terms of the height, number, configuration and individual shape of the projections, on which the present invention focuses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,759 issued to Potter discloses a cutting board with a spiked platform to engage and retain food to be cut, a knife blade guide, a plurality of channeled depressions on the top surface for the temporary retention of juices and food related debris as opposed to the raised bottom surface for traction and to prevent slippage created by the planing effect of accumulated fluid in direct contact with the cutting board disclosed in the present invention. Potter provides a food retaining element that applies to the item to be cut as opposed to restricting movement of the cutting board apparatus on the countertop.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,022 issued to Gibson discloses a rectangular cutting board with a leveling component composed of a flexible, friction, enhancing material such as rubber, located at the four corners of the board.
The present invention enhances traction by increasing the number of surface area contacts with an overall plurality of convex projections (a minimum of 13 is preferred) molded as part of, and which are spatially arranged, and spaced apart over the entire bottom (underside) of the cutting board. The location, area, size and number of friction contacts in the present invention not only enhances the ability of the cutting board to support an item placed on the board surface, which is often heavy, but also increases the traction arising from the greater number of elevating contact points and greater surface area of the projections in contact with the countertop. When there are only a few projections located only at the corners, the cutting board may actually be subject to slippage arising not only, from the minimal number and amount of surface contact area, but also from the bowing of the cutting board under the weight of the item placed on the board surface. When an item to be cut is heavy, the weight, distributed in the central most portion of the cutting board, with support only at the four corners, without additional support underneath, may actually reduce surface area contact at the corners. Center weight compression caused the supports to tilt inwardly which not only decreases the amount of friction contact but also permits fluid to flow under the projections contact thereby allowing planing to occur. This situation may even worsen when the downward cutting force adds even more non-supported force directed centrally on the cutting board.
Applicant believes that when at least several friction contact projections providing a total predetermined surface area ratio to the total board area are spatially arranged over the entire bottom of the cutting board and are spaced apart, the weight of the item to be cut is not only supported directly thereunder, but also, the weight of the item enhances the force of frictional contact of the projections.
Although non-slip cutting boards have long existed as butcher block countertops and similar large, heavy and stationary devices, these devices take up space, are cumbersome, and neither portable nor easily or adequately cleaned, such as in a dishwasher.
The need arises not only, for a cutting board which provides overall traction and diminishes slippage of the board, but also enhances support of food or other materials over the entire cutting surface, and is elevated to channel fluids underneath the cutting board, is portable, space saving, dishwasher safe, and more sanitary.